Heirs
by Szilorsi
Summary: Natasha Romanova is a renowned archeologist/anthropologist, preparing for her new excavation. But things get a little difficult, when her funds are withdrawn, by non other than Loki Laufeyson. After a heated argument, they swear to not see each other again, but thanks to an accident (?), they end up living under the same roof. Blackfrost AU, rated M for safety
1. Ego

A black Suzuki motorcycle stopped in front of a tall skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan. The people that were walking around the area looked at the cyclist with much curiosity. Big and expensive cars were lined in the nearby parking lot, all being black and neatly polished. The appearance of a motorcycle was really unusual at this part of town.

The cyclist got off from the motorbike and lifted up the helmet, letting her fiery red curls fall down to her shoulders. People stared at the person even more when they saw that the driver was a woman. Ignoring the glances of people, she started walking towards the entrance of the building, holding her helmet in her hand. By the way she was walking and her expression even a ten year old could tell that she was pissed off. With long strides, she walked across the marble floored lobby towards the elevators.

Natasha Romanova was angry...scratch that, _infuriated_. The people that were in the elevator tried to stand as far away from her as possible.

She really needed to punch something or more precisely _someone_. And the urge to do this became bigger and bigger as time passed by. But she tried to resist it, just only for a bit. After all, she has to go up only 20 storeys and she'll be able to do that. Besides, she need to behave right now, those poor people that were in the elevator did no harm to her, so she should be nice to them, or at least _try_ to. Natasha started to tap her feet on the carpeted floor, looking at the digital screen that displayed on which floor they were at.

By the time they reached the 17th floor, everyone left, leaving her alone with her rage. She folded her arms under her chest, still tapping her feet on the velvet rug. The numbers on the screen moved painfully slow.

_18…_

_19…_

_20…_

After a soft ding, the doors slid open, Natasha stepping out. She observed her surroundings, noting how fancy everything looked. She found herself at a hall, a huge, two winged black door standing only a few feet away from her. Smirking, she walked towards it, passing by a small desk. Someone cleared their throat, making her roll her eyes.

"Excuse me, but do you have an appointment?" the woman asked the redhead.

Natasha looked at the secretary, who stood behind the desk. She had blond hair that was tucked into a neat bun and aquamarine blue eyes, her full lips painted red. Her attire consisted of a white blouse and a grey pencil skirt.

_'So typical of a secretary.' _Natasha noted with irritation.

The woman's eyes took in her appearance, not even trying to hide her displeasure. This made Natasha even more annoyed. Just because she was wearing a red tank top, under a black leather jacket, dark blue jeans and black boots, and holding her red helmet didn't mean that she wasn't as equal as her.

"No."

"Thought so." The secretary mocked. "Would you like to get an appointment?"

"Look, I don't really have time for this." Natasha began.

"Of course not. So does Mr. Laufeyson." She opened up an agenda, turning its pages. "Unfortunately Mr. Laufeyson's agenda is filled at the moment. Hm… how about next month?"

This was the moment when Natasha lost it. Ignoring the oh so irritating woman in front of her, she turned and dashed towards the door, holding its metal ledge and opening it.

"Hey!" The secretary exclaimed.

Natasha stepped inside quickly, slamming the door immediately, before that nosy secretary could come after her.

And then she was standing face to face with _him. _

This was the first time she saw him in real life. Loki Laufeyson was the head of Jotunn Corporation and one of the most sought after bachelors in New York. This was understandable; after all, he had the money, and most certainly the looks. Loki had short raven hair, combed backwards; his hair further accentuated his pale complex. His eyes were of a dark emerald, always twinkling with mischief. Those thin pair of lips and sharp jaw line just made him even more good-looking. He was tall, much taller than Natasha. And even though she would rather punch him in the face right now, she couldn't help but to admit, that he was _quite _handsome.

She walked towards his sitting form and stopped just in front of his desk.

"What the hell do you think?" She shouted, making the man look at her with utter surprise.

"Excuse me?" He raised one of his brows, with clear confusion and palpable anger on his face.

"I think that you know far too well what I am talking about!"

"I'm not sure."He said with calmness in his voice, this just made the woman even angrier. "If you would be keen to tell me your name, maybe I could help you."

"My name is Natasha Romanova. I'm from the American Museum of Natural History."

"Oh… Ms. Romanova. I was expecting you to visit my office…" He smiled, putting the papers that he was holding down on his desk. "Though a bit earlier." He added.

"Sorry, I didn't have enough time on my hand. You know, someone withdrew our research funds." Her voice was slightly dripping with venom.

"Really?" He had an arrogant smirk plastered on his face, making it all too clear for her, that he knew what she meant. "I suppose that I'm that person." Slight amusement appearing in his eyes.

"Bingo."

"And your sudden appearance in my office is connected to this, right?" Loki leaned against his chair.

"Yes."

"I suppose, you would like to know why I did so."

Natasha nodded curtly.

"Well, then please sit down Ms. Romanova." He gestured at the leather armchair in front of his desk. The redhead took the offer, putting her helmet on the floor.

"Our corporation is building a new factory in Albany, and we need each and every resource we can grab our hands on. This would be our biggest and most modern industrial unit. That's why we had no other choice, than to pull out from some of our investments. One of such investments was the researches that your museum carried out. I am really sorry, that we had to do such thing, but we had no other choice." He said, with not even the slightest hint of regret. By this time, Natasha felt like standing up and punching him, until he was a bloody pulp.

"May I ask you, why did you tell us one week before we were scheduled to head off to the excavation?"

"My deepest apologies, but this was the earliest possible time that we could inform you."

"Earliest possible time?! Half a year. It took six months from my life to organize this excavation. _Six months_!"

"I am really sorry-"

"No you are not! I'm sure, that for you, this excavation couldn't be more trivial, but to me, and to the museum, it's really important. So, I request you to give back our funds."

Loki watched her with much amusement, his thin lips forming a grin.

"I'm afraid I can't." He replied bluntly.

"You don't understand. This excavation is really important. It could give us vital information about the pre-Columbian era in North America. This could be the discovery of the century!"

"I believe that if these artifacts that you are oh so insistent on finding could wait half of a millennia to be discovered, then they can certainly remain there for a few more years. You should schedule your presumed _discovery of the century_ to another date in the future." The ridicule in Loki's voice made Natasha's anger reach new heights.

She tried to calm herself down, tried to act civilized, but this man… this man brought out her bad side.

"I can see on your face, Ms. Romanova, that you do not favor my words."

"That would be the understatement of the century. You sit in this big, fancy office of yours, making decisions that influence lots of peoples life. And by the looks of it, you don't care about the impact of your decisions. What matters to you is money. Nothing more." She could see the anger rising in his eyes.

"I build factories, giving people jobs. Improving peoples life with my products. This factory would give work to more than 1,000 people. And, I'm sorry to burst your bubble dear, but these people don't give a fuck about history and national treasures if there's an opportunity for them to get a job.' The mock in his voice insulted her to no end. "This is how I serve society. But may I ask you, Ms. Romanova, how do _you_ serve society?"

"I find answers for their origins. Discover their past." Natasha replied after a short pause.

"I don't think so. In my eyes, and in the majority's eyes, you and your kind are just a faction of thieves. Who under these inane excuses, like the ones you stated before, steal and lie."

"How dare you?!" Natasha rose up from her seat, slamming her palms against the surface of his desk.

"Please, try to act respectably, Ms. Romanova. After all, it was you, who barged into my office, uninvited, demanding something that you do not deserve. And now, please leave, I have really important matters to attend to." The coldness in Loki's voice made a shiver rolling down her spine, but at the same time it angered her to no extent.

"You-"

"I'll call the security, if you stay one more minute." He reached for the black phone on his desk.

Natasha grabbed her helmet and stormed out of the office, ignoring the smug smile on the secretary's lips

* * *

_Hello there!_

_This is my first ever Blackfrost fic, so please forgive me if I made any mistakes. Though Loki and Natasha might me a bit OOC... _

_Please review!_


	2. Unwanted guest

Natasha stomped down on the stairs that led to the underground laboratory of the museum. She could have taken the elevators, but walking down the stairs somehow made her calm down, even if it was just a bit. She swiped her entrance card on the sensor, the glass door sliding open.

The laboratory was a large, open space, with equipped tables lined in rows. Natasha cracked a small smile when she saw Jane Foster next to a table, examining a skeleton.

"Hi." She greeted the other woman, slipping on her indigo lab coat.

"Hey. How was your meeting?" Jane looked up, putting back down a rib on the table.

Natasha couldn't help but frown, her mood instantly changing back to sourness.

"So, it didn't go well." Jane deadpanned.

"It was a catastrophe." The woman tied her hair up into a messy bun.

"We aren't getting back our funds, huh?"

"I would be surprised if Jotunn Corporation would ever give us funds after this." She sighed, looking at the skeleton.

"It was _that_ bad?" Jane's eyes widened. "Director Fury won't be happy…"

"I know." Natasha muttered. "But whatever, I don't need Laufeyson's money. Calling me a thief…"

She could remember Loki's expression and voice while he said those hurtful words to her. _Thief_. With this one word, he was able to degrade her on so many levels. It took her ten years of hard work to reach this level, to be a highly renowned name in the profession, only to be humiliated by these five letters. How dare he compare her to such barbaric group of people?

"Thief?"

"I'm so sorry… I know how excited you and Bruce were…"

"Oh, don't worry." Jane put an encouraging hand on the other woman's shoulder. "We'll eventually get new sponsors. At least we'll have time to analyze these findings." She pointed at the huge piles of cardboard boxes, all filled with skeletons.

Natasha made a small smile.

"Look at this one. I think I've found something really interesting." Jane handed

the redhead a skull.

Natasha looked at the hole it had the parietal bone. "Hm… it looks like he survived this one." There were clear signs of healing.

"My theory is that someone purposefully carved it out, since there aren't any signs of fracture. I've seen something like this after the digs at Teotihuacan. The priests believed, that if they carve a hole into ones skull, then the bad spirit, that caused their illness leaves the body."

Natasha nodded in appreciation. Jane was still a rookie at the museum, but the amount of knowledge she held impressed her many times.

Without further ado, Natasha opened one of the cardboard boxes, inspecting every piece in it with much attention. She liked this part of her work, although it required precision and much attention, but at least it took her mind off of her problems. For the past few hours she could forget Laufeyson and his painful words.

"Hey, Natasha, aren't you coming home?" Jane asked her. The redhead looked at the clock on the wall, noticing with surprise that it was almost 5 o'clock. Normally, she would've stayed for at least two more hours, but today she'll move into her new apartment.

Nodding, Natasha put back the bones in their respective cardboard boxes, and after collecting her belongings, she headed towards the museum's exit with Jane.

"So, you are moving in to your new place today?" Jane inquired.

"Yeah, and by this time, my belongings should be waiting me at my new apartment." Natasha smiled. From today she'll be living at the Upper East Side. It's not like she was so rich, it was only thanks to her luck. At first she thought it was a scam, but after looking up on some information, it turned out that it was far from being a scam. She'll live at a lovely neighborhood, with a laughable amount of rent. And on top of that, she only had to walk across Central Park and a few more streets and she was home. She could finally say goodbye to the long minutes that she spent in the traffic jams.

As she walked towards her new flat, Natasha felt more and more happy. The events of this morning were long forgotten, her thoughts circling around the outlook of her new home. It was situated at an old, imposing building; just this fact alone should have made the renting fee unaffordable for her. It had one large already furnished living room -with a huge window-, which was connected to the dining room and the well equipped kitchen. At both sides, it had one door, connecting two bedrooms with separate bathrooms to the large space.

When she was shown around the flat for the first time, she considered not to choose this one. She didn't need a guest room, no one would visit her from some faraway place, and a prospect of having a family was far from reality. Hell, thanks to her workaholic tendencies, she didn't have a social life. The last time she had a boyfriend was 2 years ago. But then her workaholic side took over and said that she could use the extra room for continuing her work after the museum closes.

She skipped up on the stairs that led to the entrance of the building, nodding to the doorman that stood outside. Her new home was situated on the 10th floor, so she rode the elevator to get there. As she slipped in the key into the lock, a wave of happiness washed over her, accompanied by a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. Ignoring the feeling, she entered her apartment, noting that her stuff was delivered.

Natasha changed her clothes into more comfortable ones and started unpacking the boxes. She put the few clothes she had in the large walk in closet in her bedroom. She put the sheets on the bed, along with the duvet and the pillow, arranging everything neatly.

Natasha was so engrossed in arranging her stuff in her bedroom, that she didn't notice the noise that the front door made as it opened then closed.

* * *

After a tiring and quite busy day, Loki couldn't be more grateful to be finally home. But then again, he still has to unpack his things in his new apartment.

Loki mentally groaned, having already enough of this day. The memory of his argument with that irritating archeologist made him grit his teeth in anger. There were few women who could piss him off to this extent, and Natasha Romanova was on the top of that list.

He threw his keys on one of the kitchen counters, and then proceeded on walking into the living room.

"I've told them to put them in my bedroom." He muttered with much annoyance when he saw the cardboard boxes in the room. Squatting down, he opened one of the boxes, only to be greeted with what seemed to be female lingerie. He grabbed one, closely examining it. It might've been from one of his one night stands, but he wasn't sure from which one exactly.

Suddenly, the door of the room he was standing the closest to opened, revealing the last person he wanted to see on this day. He rose from his squatting position right away, facing the woman with utter disbelieve. There, just a few feet away from him was Natasha Romanova standing.

Natasha halted in her steps when she saw a man standing in the middle of her living room. She was about to scream, but then she saw that it was Loki Laufeyson. She tried to wave it off as an illusion, but even her conscience knew that this was far from some silly daydream.

"What the hell are you doing in my apartment?!" They asked at the same time.

* * *

_**Thank you really much to those who reviewed and followed/put my story to their favorites! **_

_**I really hope that you liked this chapter. Please forgive me if something is not grammatically correct, English isn't my first language...**_

_**Please review :3**_


	3. Explanation

"What the hell are you doing in my apartment?!" They asked at the same time, staring at each other intently.

"Sorry, but I think I misheard you. You said _your_ apartment?" Natasha pointed at him.

"Yes. But this still doesn't answer my question. What are you doing inside my home, Ms. Romanova? Don't tell me that you are so desperate to get money, that you actually came here to harass me." He felt himself getting angrier by the minute. "Now, please leave, before I call the police."

"What? Why the hell should I leave my own home?"

"No, this is _my_ home. All of it!" He waved his hands around, emphasizing his words. Loki saw the woman's eyes staring at his hand keenly, and before he could find out what made her so curious, he felt stinging pain in his left cheek. The impact of her slap was so big, that his head snapped sideways, making his neck ache. During his life as a playboy, Loki received many slaps from disappointed women, but none of them were as powerful as Natasha's. Even though it was quite shameful to admit it, but Loki could see stars flying in front of him for a moment.

"You… you pervert!" Natasha's eyes were filled with rage.

"What the hell is wrong with you woman?" He shouted, ignoring the pain he felt. He might have been a gentleman, but this she demon has managed to bring out his bad side.

"Wrong with me? I should be asking this question from you! You are the one who snuck into my apartment and dug thru my lingerie." Natasha pointed at the piece of cloth which Loki was still holding in his hand.

Feeling annoyed at how prude this woman was, Loki threw the lacy fabric at her, pretending that he didn't notice the glare she had on her face. Seeing that they were going nowhere with their argument, he considered to rethink their conversation. Natasha was boldly stating that it was her apartment, but that's clearly impossible…

"I don't quite understand you. You said that this is your flat… but, I could come inside with my keys as well." He pointed out, eager to find out what happened.

The wrinkles on Natasha's forehead disappeared, her eyes widening as realization dawned upon her. "So this whole thing was a scam actually…" She ran a hand through her messy hair. She was such a fool for believing that she could really live on the Upper East Side.

Just then, the front door opened and three people entered -two men and a woman-. Natasha couldn't believe her eyes when she saw them… they were her parents and an unknown man.

"Father?" Loki asked with unmasked surprise when he saw his father enter. How did he get here, when he should be in Oslo?

"Natasha!" The brown haired woman cried out, practically running towards the redhead.

"Mom?" There was a clear sign of confusion and disbelieve in her voice. Natasha thought that her eyes were playing tricks on her. Because she was sure as hell that her parents wouldn't come to visit her, especially not after _that_ incident.

The tight hug in which her mother enveloped her made all of her doubts vanish. No, she wasn't imagining, her parents were really here. Her mother's perfume hadn't changed; she still used the same one. The sweet smell of lilies brought her back memories, the feeling of nostalgia engulfing her. But this pleasant feeling was replaced by sourness when her father spoke up.

"Natasha." Even though it was her name, the way he pronounced the syllables made her feel nothing less than hatred. His tone was dripping with hostility and superiority.

"Father." She said icily.

"Oh, Natasha! I'm so happy that I can finally meet you, after all this time! I haven't seen you ever since Anastasia's and Steve's wedding! How long has it been?" Her mother said joyfully, looking up at Natasha.

"Three years." The man that called himself her father replied curtly. "Mr. Laufeyson, this is my daughter, Natasha." He turned to the unknown man. The redhead quickly realized that the man standing near her was Loki's father. He was tall, with short raven black hair that was combed backwards. His black eyes were void of any emotion, making Natasha really uneasy.

"Miss Romanova," he grabbed her hand before she could react, and snatch it away. "It is a pleasure to meet you." His icy lips touched the back of her hand, making unpleasant shivers go down on her spine. Natasha couldn't feel more relieved when the man finally released her.

"Father, what are you doing here?" Loki spoke up.

"I am here to finalize the arrangements of your engagement."

The pure shock on Loki's face was priceless, making the redhead regret that she didn't have a camera to commemorate this moment. New York's biggest playboy is engaged? This should be the joke of the century.

"With this lovely lady." His father finished his sentence, looking directly at her.

Engaged?

With her?

What?

The questions came to her like an avalanche, numbing her brain completely. Natasha was pretty sure that she had the same bewildered look on her face as Loki had previously. She didn't know what was more shocking. The fact that she is engaged, or the fact that her fiancé is Loki. But then again, this wasn't the first time that she became betrothed to someone, without her consent.

Her shock turned into pure and unrestrained anger, as the information sank in. She shot a furious look at her parents, fisting her hands at her sides.

_"How could you?" _She shouted in Russian.

_"Natasha, listen."_ Her mother began.

_"No! I don't want to listen to your stupid explanation! This is my life! You can't make such decisions. You know what happened the last time, don't you?" _

"_We just want the best for you, dear." _Her mother walked up to her, trying to caress her cheek, but Natasha pulled away.

_"You do not know what's best for me. Especially not after being so kind and ignoring me for the past ten years." _Her words made her mom flinch.

_"Watch your mouth!"_ Her father shouted, making her jump slightly at his sudden outburst. _"Do not forget who brought you up! At least show some gratitude by being respectful."_

Natasha refrained herself from saying something really nasty. Gratitude? For what should she be grateful of? Her parents didn't do anything great for her. They just held her back and tried to step on her dreams.

"How about we sit down and discuss the details?" Laufeyson spoke up.

"That would be wonderful." Her mother chirped, forcing a smile on her face. When all five of them were sitting comfortably on the leather sofas, Loki began speaking.

"You do know that I refuse to agree on something like this." He said, more to his father than to the other three people in the room.

"I'm afraid, that you won't have any other choice." Laufeyson had a calm expression on his face. "If you don't agree to the engagement, I'll disinherit you."

Natasha resisted the urge to laugh at the familiarity of this situation.

"What? You can't do that!" Loki spoke after his sudden stupor.

"Oh, yes I can. I still own the company, while you my son… well; the only reason why you have so much power is because I let you to have it. You either agree to this engagement, or sleep on the streets from today on."

Natasha examined Loki carefully. She saw as he clenched his jaw, his eyes full of anger, but she could see a hint of despair in them as well. Instead of saying anything else, Loki stood up and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door shut. The icy glare that Laufeyson had on his face made Natasha really uneasy. He looked really… _scary_. And to be honest, she wasn't the kind of a person who became frightened easily, working with skeletons on a daily basis made her really resistant. But this man… the entire aura that surrounded him gave her an uneasy feeling, her instincts telling… or more like shouting at her to get away from him as far as possible.

"I apologize for my son's behavior." He said, standing up from his seat.

"Oh, don't worry. We too had such kind of issues with Natasha." Her mother said in a high pitched voice, looking at her daughter lovingly. Said redhead really wanted to say something really unladylike, but renounced.

"Well then, I should be leaving. Ms. Romanova, it was a pleasure to meet you." The man nodded curtly, and after bidding goodbye to Natasha's parents, he left the apartment.

"You both know that I won't agree to this." The redhead spoke up after a long, uncomfortable silence.

"Yes you will." Her father stated calmly.

Natasha chuckled darkly. "And rid me from what? My non existing inheritance? Because you did that ten years ago."

"Your job." His tone was so light, like he talked about the weather and not about her future.

"What?"

"I have the power to make you lose your job. And after some persuasion, there won't be a single museum, which would want you as one of their employees. I think that you should reconsider your answer, my dearest daughter."

Natasha looked at her mother, wanting to see some sort of assure, that what her father said wasn't true. That they were just empty threats, nothing more. Instead, she was staring at the carpet, like it was the most interesting thing in the world, avoiding her daughter's gaze. This mere action pained her to no extent.

She swallowed hard, closing her eyes. "I see."

Natasha refused to say anything else, or to show the sudden panic that completely engulfed her. Though she was sure that her father was quite aware of it.

"We should go now; we still need to catch our flight." He rose from his seat, looking at her mother.

"Yes." Her mother refused to look at her, clutching to her expensive designer bag with all of her might.

"We hope that both of you would stay in this apartment. Consider it as our engagement gift. Goodbye, daughter."

"Bye dear." The woman whispered.

When the front door closed behind them, Natasha gave in to her trembling knees and slouched down on the sofa behind her.

There was no escaping this time.

Her life was over.

* * *

Hello there!

I'm really sorry for taking forever to update, but I had to study for my exams and all. Hopefully updates will be more frequent from now on.

Also, I just have to share something with you guys. A few weeks ago on one of my classes, the teacher started to talk about Norse religion and myths. Though he didn't mention Loki, but this was more than enough for me to almost start squealing out of delight...

Sorry if I made grammar mistakes, but English isn't my mother tongue.

Thank you really much for reading and your support!


	4. Deal

So, this is a super fast update, but since it's Tom's birthday, I felt like putting up a new chapter. Hope you'll like it :)

* * *

She was sitting outside, at her apartment's balcony, feet dragged under the metal railing, letting them sway as the wind blew. She held onto the balustrade with one hand, while having a bottle of vodka in her other one. Though she bought it with the intention of celebrating her move into her new home. Natasha looked down at the street below her. The cars that sped by, and the people that walked on the pavement looked so tiny… like toys from this height. The seemingly unending distance between her and the ground made her head feel lighter… she felt dizzy, but she welcomed this feeling with open arms nonetheless. Since she couldn't head back to the museum to get some work done, this was the only way she could take her mind off of this evening's happenings. Not to mention, that this bottle of vodka served as an excellent distraction to her inner turmoil.

But even as she sat here, the memories of the late afternoon crept back to her, before she could even realized it. What should she do now? Her parents have clearly learned about their former mistake, making their threats more severe this time. They promised her that they'll make her lose her job; make her impossible to find another place to work if she refuses this marriage. For the first time, in a long time, Natasha felt despair. She tried to find a solution for her problem, but her efforts were fruitless. Natasha felt trapped… no matter how hard she tried to find an escape, all doors, all passages were locked. It made her gasping for air; it was too hard to take even one intake of precious oxygen. But when she took another swig from the bottle, this feeling seemed to subside, making her calm once again.

She rested he forehead against the railing, emitting a long sigh. The coldness of the bar made her a bit relaxed. Natasha heard the opening and closing of a door, but she thought it was only her imagination. She snapped her head sideways, when she saw a figure sitting down beside her from the corner of her eyes. To her surprise, it was Loki. The grim expression on his face made her all too aware, that she wasn't the only person who felt anger and anguish.

Natasha didn't question him about where did he go after storming out of the apartment. It was his business after all… though it did intrigue her as to why did he return. But she didn't have the courage to ask him about it; instead, she decided to tell him something else.

"Welcome to the club of people, with fucked up lives." She chuckled darkly, raising her bottle and taking another sip from the bottle. Loki snorted, loosening his tie. "Do you want some?" Natasha handed the vodka over to him. He took it without any hesitation, taking a long swig.

The bitter feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach got more intense. She was infuriated, but at the same time, she wanted to laugh out loud.

_"_They did it again! They try to fuck up my life once again!_" _Natasha laughed bitterly.

"What do you mean?" Loki asked with unmasked curiosity in his voice.

Natasha turned, so she was facing him. For a split second, she contemplated on not telling him, but seeing that they are in the same situation, she decided otherwise. Taking in a deep breath, she spoke up.

"Ten years ago, my parents came up with an arranged marriage. They wanted me to marry Clint Barton, the heir of Hawk Insurance Group."

"And?"

"I refused to do so, telling them, that we are in the 21th century, and being part of an arranged marriage is ridiculous. They said that if I won't agree, they'll rid me of my inheritance, won't pay for my tuition and apartment rent." She paused. "My parents expected me to accept, but I had other plans, I said no. And they kept their word, disinheriting me."

"But then…"

"How did I graduate from university?" Loki nodded a yes at her question. "With hard work. Luckily I managed to get a scholarship and I worked part time to pay for my living expenses. While my classmates attended parties and got drunk, I spent my free time in the library, studying so I could keep my scholarship. It was one hell of a 5 years, but it was worth it. I caught the eye of director Fury, and he offered me a job at the museum. I finally felt free and successful. What I achieved was because of my hard work, and not because of my rich parents."

Natasha looked at him, and to her surprise, she found something akin to respect in his emerald eyes.

"So then, you are more experienced in this field… Then please tell me, what are you going to do?"

"My parents clearly learned from their mistake. Even though, I thought that they would be smarter not to make me do something like this again. Last time they thought light of me, thinking that I would give up at the prospect of losing my inheritance. But I proved them wrong. And now, they made sure, that I have no other choice but to agree to their stupid plan."

"Then I presume that you'll accept?" Loki noted bitterly.

"You know, I devoted a decade of my life to my job. This is the only thing that I know how to do… and they made it clear for me, that if I refuse, they'll make it impossible for me to find another job. And so did they to you."

"Seeing that we have no other choice, we should agree." He spoke up, surprising her with his answer. These were certainly not the words she expected him to declare.

"But you do know that we have to get married then…"

"Of course I do." He said offended. "Just because I drank a few shots of alcohol doesn't mean that I became imprudent."

"Well, it doesn't seem like that to me."

"You know Ms. Romanova, I've been always considered to be a mischievous person. Constantly finding solution to some problems with mischief. And I'm pretty sure, that it won't be different this time as well."

The wrinkles on Natasha's forehead started to subside as realization started to dawn upon her.

"Let's accept their offer… or more like this obligation… but I'm certain that the ending of this story won't be the one they expected. We'll surely find a way to break this engagement and have our normal life back. So, Ms. Romanova, do you agree with me?" He extended his hand towards her, waiting for her response.

Natasha contemplated. Should she really accept this? Does she really want to form some sort of an alliance with Loki Laufeyson? What if he tricks her? But then again, it is his interest as well to break the engagement. It might have been because of the vodka, or the look in Loki's eyes that told her she could trust him, or just the mere fact, that Natasha wanted her normal life back, but she gave in.

She extended her hand, shaking Loki's, sealing their deal.

"I think this is the beginning of a wonderful relationship, Ms. Romanova." He smirked slyly.

* * *

Thank you really much for reading!


	5. Article

Natasha woke up to the sound of her phone ringing on her nightstand. Muttering some curses in Russian, she grabbed the phone, answering the call.

"Natasha, please tell me that this is just a rumor…" She heard Jane's impatient voice.

"What rumor?" She grumbled, sitting up in her bed.

"Just visit a news site and you'll see."

Letting out a frustrated growl, she turned on her laptop and typed in a news site's address. Her eyes widened at the headlines.

"The fuck…"

**_New York's most wanted bachelor to tie the knot! _**

One of the titles said, with a montage picture of Loki and her under it. She clicked on the link and started reading the article. Natasha became more and more enraged with each line she read.

_Loki Laufeyson, CEO of Jotunn Corporation has decided to get married. A representative of the company stated that his fiance is none other than Dr. Natasha Romanova, renowned archeologist, daughter of R.O.C. owner, Bogdan Romanov._

_Although the representative didn't state how and when did they meet, it is highly possible, that it was thanks to the fact that Jotunn Corporation provided funds for the American Museum of Natural History, where Romanova works as well._

_The date of their wedding hasn't been decided yet…._

"Oh, give me a break." She refused to read the article any longer, in order to preserve her sanity.

"So, is this true?" Jane asked. Natasha completely forgot that she was speaking to her friend on the telephone.

"Unfortunately, yes." She rubbed the bridge of her nose, already feeling a migraine coming.

"What? But… last time I checked, you didn't even have a boyfriend!"

"Look Jane, I would really like to talk to you about this, but right now I have some matters to attend to. I promise, that when I get to the museum, I'll tell you _everything_."

"What? Wait-"

Natasha ended the call, throwing her phone on her bed, rising to her feet as quickly as she could. She had to talk to Loki, but she was more than positive that he was already at the office. Taking a fast shower, breakfast and dressing up, she headed to the garage for her motorcycle. Even though it took her only 15 minutes to reach his office, it felt like a never ending journey. She just really had to talk about this with Loki.

She felt really angry, since they told their parents not to announce the betrothal until later. It's been one week since their parents forced them to get engaged, and her relationship with Loki couldn't have been worse. They constantly argued and insulted each other. Natasha even purposely remained at the museum until late night, trying to avoid the man as much as possible. And it really seemed like Loki had the same strategy as well, this would be the first time in a week that she'll see him in person.

Natasha parked the motorbike down, ignoring the fact that she was the center of attention once again. She contemplated on whether should she leave her helmet on, or take it off. But she would certainly be stared at anyways. Muttering, she took the helmet off, entering the tall building once again.

People started to whisper upon seeing her, staring at her intently. The pointed looks never stopped, even when she was in the elevator. When she reached the top floor, she walked towards Loki's office. Upon her arrival Ava, the secretary – whose name she found out from Loki – rose from her seat, preparing to address her.

"Mr. Laufeyson is having an important phone conversation right now." Ava folded her arms under her chest. Natasha halted in her steps, looking at the woman in front of her.

"And do you honestly think that it can stop me?" Natasha glared.

"He won't be happy if you barge in."

"Oh, trust me, I can handle it." She made a sharp turn, already opening the door.

Loki was sitting at his desk, with a phone in his hand, talking or more like shouting in Norse at someone. She could see him glancing at her as she walked, sitting down on a sofa in the corner of the office.

As he talked on the phone she looked around, taking in the appearance of the room, since at her first visit, she didn't really have the opportunity to do so. Loki's office had too walls covered entirely with glass, making the morning sun cast its rays inside the space. The furniture was quite simple, very functional. The floor was made of marble, so clean and polished, that Natasha could practically see her own reflection in it. The walls were black, with several modern paintings mounted on them. The surface of his desk was made of glass, with black metal legs. The black leather sofa she was sitting on stood only a few feet away from Loki's desk, with a glass coffee table in front of it. Natasha's eye caught a magazine on it, with her face on the front cover. She grabbed the paper instantly, reading the words on it.

The magazine was called Celebrity Exclusive, and Natasha knew that this gossip magazine loved to mock everyone and write articles that would certainly cause a scandal. They would write about anything as long as it would increase the amount of papers they could sell. And when she read the large yellow letters on the cover, she wasn't let down.

**_Natasha Romanova: The man or his money?_**

Rolling her eyes, she opened the magazine, her eyes scanning the article.

_Dr. Natasha Romanova, being the passionate archeologist that she is, secured the funds from Jotunn Corporation for her excavations in a quite easy matter: sharing a bed with Loki Laufeyson. No wonder that the Corporation was so generous at giving money to the American Museum of Natural History! So, this raises the question, does Natasha Romanova love this man or is it just his money?_

She felt the urge to rip this waste of paper and ink into shreds, and to burn the whole thing up, together with the person who wrote it. How could they? How could they possibly write something as disgusting as this?

"Do you enjoy the show?" She looked up, her eyes meeting Loki's. Natasha could tell by the look on his face, that he was angry beyond measure. Oh well, she couldn't blame him. "We should thank my father for being this generous and announcing it to the public." He spat. "And don't worry because of this article, I already told my lawyers to sue them." A small smile crept on Natasha's face.

_'Well, maybe he isn't such a big jerk after all.' _She thought.

"How dare they accuse me of having to pay for a woman's services…" He scowled.

_'Wait, what?' _The smile on Natasha's face froze, slowly turning into a snarl.

"So, in the end what made you angry wasn't the fact that they accused me of being a gold digger, but that you were accused of paying for my supposed services."

Loki looked at her, like she just said the understatement of the year.

"Of course. I mean, I can have any woman, at a snap of my finger. Why should I resort to such disgusting things?"

Natasha couldn't express her fury in words. In this situating, they failed her… But there was no need to panic, what you cannot express verbally, you can express physically. With a swift move, her palm connected with Loki's cheek, slapping him as hard as she could.

"You are such an asshole." She shouted, already walking towards the door

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" She heard him shout.

"Wrong with me?" Natasha asked, pointing at herself. "_I_ should be the one asking this, from _you_. Is it really _that_ hard for you to be considerate of someone, other than yourself?"

"What?" He knitted his brows.

"Never mind, I won't waste my breath with explaining it to you." Natasha opened the door, leaving a slightly perplexed Loki behind.

* * *

**I am extremely sorry for the late update... things got a bit busy for me in these past couple of weeks... traveling by train for 10 hours to a concert, and then barely having 6 hours of sleep in 48 hours took a quite big toll on me... But who cares, when I had the best time of my life :D **

**Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter...**

**Thanks for the support!**


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